March 28, 2024

Woods has a tough start in his latest comeback in golf

WINDERMERE, Fla. (AP) — Starting with the click of a camera before he could even hit his opening tee shot, Tiger Woods received a rude reminder of what his golf has been like during a lost year due to back troubles.

He didn’t hit it close enough. When he finally did, he couldn’t make putts. He failed to break par for the 10th time in the 12 rounds he has completed since he first returned from back surgery in June. He was closer to the bottom of the pack than the top.

There was one surprise that was hardly pleasant: Woods returned to golf on Thursday, but his short game did not.

Nothing illustrated his frustration more than the par-5 13th hole, when Woods thought he was on the verge of having a short eagle putt and instead made bogey. His roll turned back from going to the top ridge near the flag and rolled off the green into a collection area. It took him three chips just to reach the green.

One was too soft, didn’t quite reach the green and rolled back toward his feet.

The next one was the ugliest one of the day, a stubbed chip from a steep swing that moved the ball only a few feet.

And when he repeated his error on the par-5 17th — only once this time — that cost him another easy birdie, he was resigned to rough start in the Hero World Challenge. Woods wound up with a 5-over 77, his worst score ever in his unofficial event, his second-highest score of the year, and a spot in last place among 18 players at Isleworth.

Welcome back, Tiger.

“One of those days where nothing went my way,” Woods said.

Alas, he still has his health, and that was the lone bright side. Woods took on any shot, perhaps the best example on the par-5 seventh when he took a powerful lash with a long iron from a severe slope on the back end of a bunker. He finished about pin-high, although in a bunker.

It took two shots to get out of the sand. And he missed the putt. Bogey.

Woods was 11 shots behind Jordan Spieth, who looked just as good in central Florida on Thursday as he did in Australia on Sunday. Spieth, coming off a six-shot win in the Australian Open, ran off five straight birdies around the turn and made sure he left Isleworth with a smile by saving par with a 12-foot putt.

“I’m excited about how last week went and I’m kind of riding the momentum,” Spieth said. “I’m going to give it my all these last few days.”

Zach Johnson was one shot behind. He won last year at Sherwood, so maybe it’s the calendar instead of the golf course. Henrik Stenson also shot 67. He won in Dubai two weeks ago in the season-ender on the European Tour. Rickie Fowler shot 67. He narrowly missed a playoff in the World Golf Championship in Shanghai last month.

The other guy with a 67 was Steve Stricker. He hasn’t played since the PGA Championship, which if nothing else shoots a big hole in the theory that he was rusty. So was Stricker. And then there was Jason Day, who hasn’t played since the Tour Championship. He played with Woods and shot 71.

“Today was weird,” Woods said. “I didn’t feel like I hit it that bad. My short game was awful. Didn’t make anything. ... Bad chips, bad putts and a couple of missed shots on the front nine on the wrong side compounded the problem.”